Dolphins’ Fiedler back to old mistakes

Davie, Fla. Conservative, consistent and confident, Jay Fiedler ranked among the NFL’s top passers as he avoided mistakes and led the Miami Dolphins to a 3-0 start.

Then Fiedler reverted to his tendency for turnovers. And the Dolphins lost.

Four interceptions at Kansas City raised doubts anew about Fiedler, whose risky throws and bad decisions marred Miami’s transition from the Dan Marino era in 2000-01. On Sunday the Dolphins play host to defending Super Bowl champion New England (3-1) with the AFC East lead at stake.

A week ago Fiedler ranked third in the NFL in passing, throwing five touchdown passes with just one interception. But the 48-30 loss at Kansas City sank his ranking to 15th.

Martin prepares for second start

St. Louis Jamie Martin has gone from getting no snaps in practice to getting almost all of them. He hopes he can take advantage of them to become the next Kurt Warner, the man he’s replacing.

Warner became a star after Trent Green had a season-ending knee injury in the 1999 preseason, leading the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. Martin’s goal is more modest help the Rams win their first game of the season at San Francisco on Sunday.

“As a backup you’re always waiting for a chance like this, and you want to take advantage of it,” Martin said Wednesday.

Spurrier will wait to name starting QB

Ashburn, Va. Danny Wuerffel has not started an NFL game in four years. He will have to wait a little longer before he is sure the dry spell is over.

All indications have Wuerffel starting ahead of rookie Patrick Ramsey when the Washington Redskins play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, but coach Steve Spurrier said he’s not going to reveal his decision until Saturday.

Kitna will start at QB for winless Bengals

Cincinnati The winless Cincinnati Bengals are changing quarterbacks again, going with Jon Kitna as the starter for Sunday’s game at Indianapolis.

Kitna will try to do what his predecessors, Gus Frerotte and Akili Smith, failed to accomplish spark the Bengals’ woeful offense. Cincinnati (0-4) has scored just one offensive touchdown, and the team has been outscored 119-23.

Bills’ Robertson suspended four games

Orchard Park, N.Y. Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Tyrone Robertson was suspended for four games by the NFL on Wednesday for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

Robertson, Buffalo’s seventh-round pick in last year’s draft, had been inactive for all four Bills games this season. He appeared in 12 games as a reserve last season, recording 27 tackles and two sacks.